Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Precision shooting off a tiripod

I have been in several hunting situations over the last couple years where I was unable to take a (good) shot when it presented itself because the vegetation was too tall. I have a tripod with spotting scope attached that I take when hunting the wide open prairie of SD. I think it was three years ago, I was forced to take a 300 yd shot laying my rifle over the top of the spotting scope while kneeling. It worked out, but i really don't know how. I thought I missed because it was so unstable after the shot broke i saw my cross-hairs over the deers back. I was quickly reloading as my hunting buddy exclaimed that I had dropped him. I keep a bipod on my rifles for long shots, but even in a dry year, it is hit or miss whether the grass will be short enough to see over while in the prone position. This leads me to think seriously about investing in a sturdy tripod and a rifle mount like a hog saddle or a picatinny attachment. It seems like the PRS world has popularized tripods for field shooting in difficult positions, and i think i might want to jump on the band-waggon. Anyone out there shooting off a tripod with good long range success? What tripod do you use and how stable is it?

Depending on how high up you need to get,

I've had good accuracy out to about 400 yards on 10" plates using the 12-25" Harris bipod. They also have a 27"

https://www.triclawps.com/

I like them because they are easy to swap from rifle to rifle and isn't a permanent addition.. If you are a dedicated 1 rifle guy, than one of the picatinny mounts might make more sense.

My wife and kids have shot all of their elk and deer standing with the triclawps mounted on a tripod. I carry the tripod for them pre-set for their height and set it up for them when they are ready to shoot. That way we have a steady rest no matter where we are hunting.

A big secure head/plate like the Manfrotto 701 HDV is a bit plus.

Seated, my longest shot taken with the Triclawps was 525 yds and I feel pretty good to 600. Standing reduces my comfortable range to around 400. My 11 year old daughter shot her 1st buck
this year @ 295 yds standing with the rifle mounted to the tripod.

My favorite use for the triclawps (formerly known as "the claw") is when sitting in a ground blind as it keeps the rifle in a ready position with no movement and incredible stability. 3 out of my last 4 Coues bucks were shot while sitting water using the tripod.

Is it as steady as prone with a bipod and rear rest? Absolutely not! However, sitting down and using your knee or better yet a hunting pack or shooting sticks as a rear rest makes for a very stable platform.

Hope this helps!

goose

I've used the Harris bipods for a very long time and never go out in the field without one on my rifles any more. For the exact same reasons you state with high grass and other obstacles, I always use the 13-27" or 12-25" bipods so I can shoot sitting to get above the obstacles. Longest shot so far was on an elk at 600 yards even and you could cover 3 of the shots with a coffee cup. Prone with a short bipod is always going to be steadier and more accurate,which is why I keep one around for sage rat and rock chuck hunting in open prairie, but the taller units always go in the field for larger game, coyotes, and targets of opportunity.

The nice thing is they aren't permanent and you can put them on and off in a couple minutes as long as you have sling swivel studs and leave your sling on the rifle if you want. The swivel models are even better for moving game and uneven terrain.

Bob

Hog/pig saddle has been working well on my lightweight tripod. Probably wouldn't be great for anything over kneeling though. The tripod that is.

Ya-butt..... Kneeling to you, is like standing to normal folk.

I overlooked that...

Thanks for the responses. I don’t plan on using a tripod while standing just for sitting/ kneeling. The tripod I have is a lightweight compact unit I bought for back country glassing and it is not up to the task of supporting a rifle. I like having the option of shooting prone with a standard height bipod, which is why I don’t use the tall Harris bipods.

I`ve used my 27" Harris for years hunting deer sitting high on a bluff in Mi. Killed 6 that way, longest being 465 yrds. Have always felt comfortable doing so. But I also practice a bit in the summer with the bipod attachd to my .22 bolt gun. Practice helps. Having a big belly dosen`t help.

Super F’n Tactical...... on a Bog Pod.





My kids have killed almost all their big game animals off this set-up.... works like a champ from sitting to standing.

Sitting, while I sing my pack as a rear “rest”, I’m pretty comfortable out to 500 with it.

I’m one of those competition guys. I’ve shot off a Manfrotto 055 w/ a hog saddle, a Feisol 3342 w/ a 54mm ballhead (direct mount), a Feisol 3372 w/ a RRS leveling base (direct mount), and RRS 33’s with various direct mount options. None of those are light duty, but the 3372 and the 33 are noticeably more solid.

From sitting with an additional rear support (pack or sticks) and a reasonable amount of time you can break great shots from any of those setups. With the “better” options you can get away without rear support, and break good shots a bit faster. The good ones are crazy good, and also impressively pricy.

I don't care for an attached bipod ,etc, but I do like to shoot from the Sit with a light set of folding shooting sticks out in the prairie,

This looks very stable with legs spread as shown for sure...I would bet only slight crosshair movement is noticed in elevation (up-down) Dog, you control that by sitting on longer shots, I would assume...Very cool DIY set up. I carry a folding set of shooting stix made of aluminum...X cross sticks work well if you have solid ground...otherwise, you have a leg sinking into the ground or worse yet, both legs sinking into the ground at different depths.

But, in a perfect situation, which rarely occurs. the legs hit hard terra-firma or a rock beneath the dirt stopping the legs from traveling into the ground further. You are then ready to Rock!

P.S. I know you know what elevation means..Grinning Bitch!

Around here the 055 is pretty popular in the PRS game, and coupled with the RRS leveling base, it’s a very sweet setup.

I’ve got a Slik 700DX, Sunwayfoto 66 leveling base, and Triclawps rest on the way, to see how a budget option stacks up.

Looking it up Jordan...The hardest thing is finding something that is lightweight and folds up small for me...You're in BC so you likely have the same dense crap I have on the coast...I am a lot of times sneaking my way down a mountainside covered in everything that grows green and snagging my rifle barrel hinders me enough as is. I've tried different monopods, Harris, I have a few of those too, but they don't help on a 40-degree mountainside...

I would be in gold if I developed a 2 legged stand that was compact...Held you rifle forend like Dogs tripod stand shows and had feet that wouldn't allow for sinking into soft soil...And was adjustable in height...Ka-Ching!

Agreed...This is my life 80% of my shooting on elk...The rest is off my pack kneeling or laid out flat...I'm looking for improvements to that 80% all the time.

This is a light and reasonably affordable setup.



It’s from these guys.

http://www.precisionriflesolutions.com/apps/webstore/

I’ve got one of the above SFTs that’s set up for use on that same tripod (Slik Pro II I believe?) it works, and sometimes I’ll throw it in the pack.... but it’s obviously not as stable as the Bog Pod.

Kingston, How would you rate your "Hog Saddle" for movement? I was looking at the saddle made by Shawdow Tech LLC...It's $315 for just the saddle. I like the price point better for your entire platform...

I find it quite stable for what it is. For 15x more $$ you could have a RRS with all the fixings, but that’s a totally different animal.